5 AUGUST
In Music History
1959 The Isley Brothers record "Shout."
1959 Frankie Avalon releases "Just Ask Your Heart."
1957 American Bandstand goes national when it airs for the first time on ABC. The show will run for five years on the Philadelphia TV station WFIL as Bandstand. Hosted by Dick Clark throughout its national run, the show remains on network TV until 1987. The first song the kids dance to this day is "That'll Be The Day" by Buddy Holly.
1953 Singer Samantha Sang is born Cheryl Lau Sang in Melbourne, Australia.
1947 Greg Leskiw (guitarist for The Guess Who) is born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
1947 Guitarist/vocalist Rick Derringer (of the Edgar Winter Group and The McCoys) is born in Fort Recovery, Ohio.
1943 Country music singer/songwriter Sammi Smith is born Jewel Faye Smith in Orange County, California.
1942 Rick Huxley (bassist for The Dave Clark Five) is born in Dartford, Kent, England.
1941 Jazz drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira (of Weather Report) is born in Itaiopolis, Brazil.
1940 Singer/actress Damita Jo is born in Austin, Texas. Had a minor hit with a cover of "If You Go Away."
1926 Jazz singer/pianist Jeri Southern is born Genevieve Hering in Royal, Nebraska. Known for the 1957 hit "Fire Down Below."
The Runaways Form, Becoming The First All-Girl Hard Rock Band
1975The first all-female hard-rock band is formed when producer Kim Fowley puts together The Runaways, featuring Joan Jett, future Bangle Michael Steele, and Lita Ford.
Read more5 AUGUST
Featured Events
2017 Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" lands at #1 on the Country chart for the 25th week, breaking the record previously held by Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise."
2016 There are spectacular fireworks, awe-inspiring acrobats, and sensational dancers at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Rio, but supermodel Gisele Bundchen gets the biggest reaction when she takes a long walk across the stage to "The Girl From Ipanema," performed by the composer's grandson, Daniel Jobim.
1978 The Rolling Stones' disco-flavored "Miss You" hits #1 in America, where it stays for one week, knocking Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" from a seven-week run at the top.
1976 At a show in Birmingham, England, an inebriated Eric Clapton speaks out in favor of the right-wing National Front, repeating their slogan, "Keep Britain white," and adding, "I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism." Clarifying his statements years later, Clapton says, "I made some fairly racial comments, but they weren't directed at any particular minority. It was a feeling of loss of identity and losing my Englishness."
1975 Stevie Wonder signs the largest contract for a single artist in history: $13 million over seven years for seven albums with Tamla/Motown.
1962 Marilyn Monroe dies of a barbiturate overdose at age 36 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Musically, she's known for an iconic performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
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